Chapter Summaries

After transmigrating into the body of the Northern Guardian Marquis's wastrel son, Jiang Xiaobai learned that his father was furious because he had bought the top scholar title. He suspected the exam fraud was a trap targeting the Jiang family, while his father began to propose a solution and Jiang Xiaobai guessed it might be rebellion.

• Jiang Jingcheng kicked Jiang Xiaobai across the hall and confronted him over refusing martial training and buying first place in the imperial examination.
• Jiang Xiaobai absorbed the body's memories and realized the fraud could bring down the Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate.
• Shen Yun rushed in to protect Jiang Xiaobai, and Jiang Jingcheng warned that the examination fraud could be treated as deceiving the emperor.
• Jiang Xiaobai recalled that the vice minister of rites had coaxed his predecessor into the scheme and suspected someone had set a trap for the Jiang family.
• Jiang Xiaobai considered whether the emperor might benefit from the Jiang family's downfall, while Jiang Jingcheng sighed that only one solution remained.
• Jiang Xiaobai eagerly asked whether his father meant rebellion.

After Jiang Xiaobai suggested rebellion, Jiang Jingcheng rejected the idea and planned to have his son marry into another family to protect him from the scandal over buying the Top Graduate title. With the examination results due in three days and no suitable marriage prospects, Jiang Xiaobai was set to attend a poetry gathering at Chancellor Li’s residence, where he mocked the poems his father had prepared.

• Jiang Jingcheng erupted at Jiang Xiaobai’s suggestion of rebellion, then proposed that Xiaobai marry into another family to reassure the emperor.
• Jiang Xiaobai agreed to the plan, collapsed from his injuries, and later woke to Shen Yun telling him the examination results would be posted in three days.
• Jiang Jingcheng reported that several families had rejected a marriage arrangement because of Jiang Xiaobai’s reputation, and he ruled out an ordinary family as too suspicious to the emperor.
• Jiang Jingcheng arranged for Jiang Xiaobai to attend a poetry gathering at Chancellor Li’s residence and gave him poems to memorize.
• Jiang Xiaobai laughed at the poems and questioned whether they deserved to be called poetry, prompting Jiang Jingcheng to challenge him to write something better.

Jiang Xiaobai memorized three poems and realized his father intended to use the Poetry Gathering to abduct a woman and force a marriage. As Jiang Jingcheng took him to the gathering, he warned Jiang Xiaobai not to choose Chancellor Li’s daughter, Li Zhiwei.

• Jiang Jingcheng ordered Shen Yun to teach Jiang Xiaobai three poems and told an officer to ensure the night’s Poetry Gathering went according to plan.
• Jiang Xiaobai quickly memorized the poems, then suspected his father was plotting something that could bring the Chancellor’s Residence against the Jiang Family.
• After servants dressed him, Jiang Xiaobai followed Jiang Jingcheng into a carriage bound for the Poetry Gathering.
• Jiang Jingcheng told Jiang Xiaobai to choose a woman at the gathering and report her name, while forbidding him from choosing Li Zhiwei because she was out of his league.

Jiang Jingcheng brought Jiang Xiaobai to the Chancellor's Residence, where he went to meet Chancellor Li while his son was escorted to the Poetry Gathering. Jiang Xiaobai entered the gathering by force, drawing suspicion from a scholar who wondered why the Profligate Heir had come.

• Jiang Jingcheng warned Jiang Xiaobai that he would kill him if Li Zhiwei took a liking to him.
• Jiang Jingcheng and Jiang Xiaobai arrived at the Chancellor's Residence, where the guards let them pass after his personal guards unleashed their killing intent.
• Jiang Jingcheng told a personal guard to escort Jiang Xiaobai to the Poetry Gathering while he went to speak with Chancellor Li.
• A scholar asked Jiang Xiaobai and the guard for invitations, but the guard threatened him by drawing his sword, and the scholar let them enter.
• The scholar recognized the Jiang Family's mark and suspected Jiang Xiaobai was the Profligate Heir, questioning what he was doing at the Poetry Gathering.

Jiang Xiaobai attended the Poetry Gathering and faced hostility over his reputation as the Jiang Family’s wastrel heir. After he slapped two scholars who tried to drive him out, an old man intervened and ordered Jiang Xiaobai to leave.

• Jiang Xiaobai noticed that the scholars and young women at the gathering looked at him with disgust and rejection.
• Zeng Qingchi and the White-Clad Man mocked Jiang Xiaobai and speculated that the Jiang Family would soon decline.
• Two scholars confronted Jiang Xiaobai and demanded that he leave the Poetry Gathering.
• Jiang Xiaobai stopped his guard from attacking and slapped both scholars after insulting them.
• An old man deflected the guard’s sword with a pebble and ordered Jiang Xiaobai to leave, but Jiang Xiaobai told the two scholars to get lost instead.

Jiang Xiaobai mocked two scholars with a poem at the Poetry Gathering, surprising the crowd with his skill. Miss Li Zhiwei arrived, and his guard warned him that the Marquis had forbidden him from pursuing the Prime Minister’s daughter.

• Jiang Xiaobai told the two scholars they were acting like dogs blocking the road and recited a poem insulting them.
• The scholars were left humiliated, while the guard, Elder Xin, and the onlookers were surprised by Jiang Xiaobai’s poetry.
• The White-Clad Man and Zeng Qingchi discussed whether Jiang Xiaobai had composed the poem himself.
• Elder Xin stepped aside when a woman called to him, and Miss Li Zhiwei entered the gathering.
• Jiang Xiaobai was captivated by Li Zhiwei, and his guard identified her as the Prime Minister’s daughter and warned him not to pursue her.

Jiang Xiaobai was welcomed into Li Zhiwei’s Poetry Gathering after she overruled her servant, and he became convinced the event had a hidden purpose. He suspected the gathering was aimed at him as the evening’s festivities began.

• Li Zhiwei told the old servant that Jiang Xiaobai was a guest and should be welcomed, then accepted his thanks and continued into the gathering.
• Li Zhiwei’s maid praised Jiang Xiaobai’s poem to her, and Li Zhiwei quietly considered him.
• Li Zhiwei’s maid announced the gathering’s activities and hinted that an exceptionally talented guest might win Li Zhiwei’s special favor.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked his guard about the gathering’s purpose, insisted it could not be an ordinary Poetry Gathering, and teased that he would call Li Zhiwei “Wei'er.”
• Jiang Xiaobai lowered his voice and warned that the gathering might be targeting him.

At the Poetry Gathering, Jiang Xiaobai accepted Li Zhiwei’s theme of strength of character and asked for her handwritten work as the prize if he won. His deliberately suggestive request first angered the guests, then amused them once he clarified what he meant, and he briefly met Li Zhiwei’s gaze.

• A guest suggested that Li Zhiwei choose the poetry theme, and Jiang Xiaobai dismissed his Personal Guard Commander’s concern that the memorized poems would not fit.
• Li Zhiwei chose strength of character as the theme and invited the guests to compose verse or lyrics.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked whether there was a prize, drawing criticism from guests who considered the question mercenary.
• Jiang Xiaobai requested something Li Zhiwei carried with her, then clarified that he meant her calligraphy or handwritten work.
• Li Zhiwei’s maid promised her calligraphy if Jiang Xiaobai wrote the finest poem, and Jiang Xiaobai agreed before exchanging a brief glance with Li Zhiwei.

Jiang Xiaobai laughed at several men’s poems during a Poetry Gathering, drawing their anger and the White-Clad Man’s challenge to compare verses. Jiang Xiaobai recited a lyric poem about a solitary plum blossom, leaving the crowd to hear its final line.

• A young man recited a poem about standing firm, and the crowd praised it while Jiang Xiaobai quietly laughed.
• A second man praised the pine tree in verse, and Jiang Xiaobai laughed again, angering the poet.
• Jiang Xiaobai openly laughed at a third man’s poem, prompting the man to accuse him of disgracing cultured society.
• The White-Clad Man arrived with Zeng Qingchi and the zither-playing woman, then challenged Jiang Xiaobai to compare poems.
• Jiang Xiaobai accepted the challenge and recited a lyric poem about a plum blossom that endured wind, rain, and being ground into dust.

Jiang Xiaobai stunned the gathering by composing four outstanding poems about an unyielding spirit, silencing accusations that he had plagiarized. He left without choosing anyone, but Li Zhiwei called after him to stay.

• Li Zhiwei praised Jiang Xiaobai's first poem, while Zeng Qingchi questioned whether he had composed it himself and others accused him of copying.
• Jiang Xiaobai answered the accusations by reciting three more poems, leaving the garden convinced of his talent.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked the White-Clad Man to recite his own poem, then mocked his silence and headed for the exit.
• The Personal Guard Commander reminded Jiang Xiaobai that he had come to choose someone, but Jiang Xiaobai said he was waiting for Li Zhiwei to call him.
• Li Zhiwei called out, asking Jiang Xiaobai to stay.

After composing four poems, Jiang Xiaobai stayed at Li Zhiwei’s Poetry Gathering and impressed the guests by answering the White-Clad Man’s matching verse. He then offered a suggestive line that Li Zhiwei completed, leaving the gathering to realize he had turned the game toward courtship.

• Li Zhiwei asked Jiang Xiaobai to stay until the Poetry Gathering ended so she could present his promised prize, and he agreed.
• Li Zhiwei ended the theme of integrity and spirit and proposed that the guests exchange matching verses.
• The White-Clad Man challenged Jiang Xiaobai with the line “Wind stirs the flowers' shadows into fragments,” and Jiang Xiaobai immediately answered, “Moonlight casts the willow tips aslant.”
• Jiang Xiaobai offered the line “Near water, first sensing the night's faint warmth,” and Li Zhiwei completed it with “Meeting you, only then knowing this longing is not mine alone?”
• The guests understood the suggestive exchange and indignantly realized Jiang Xiaobai had used matching verses to court Li Zhiwei.

Jiang Xiaobai left the Poetry Gathering with Li Zhiwei’s maid and waited for her in her study, where he revealed why he had hidden his abilities and learned about her plan to challenge his appointment. He told Li Zhiwei that he had come to seek a partnership with her.

• Li Zhiwei sent her maid to lead Jiang Xiaobai to her study to await his prize, leaving the Poetry Gathering guests resentful and bewildered.
• In Li Zhiwei’s study, Jiang Xiaobai’s guard questioned why he had left the gathering instead of stirring up trouble as the Marquis had instructed, but Jiang Xiaobai said he knew what he was doing.
• Li Zhiwei returned and asked what painting or calligraphy Jiang Xiaobai wanted, and he suggested that he tell her what to create.
• Jiang Xiaobai told Li Zhiwei that he had acted like a wastrel to stay alive after his two elder brothers died on the battlefield under suspicious circumstances.
• Li Zhiwei explained that she had held the Poetry Gathering to rally scholars and petition against someone buying the Top Rank official position, and Jiang Xiaobai revealed that he had come to seek a partnership with her.

Jiang Xiaobai proposed marrying into the Chancellor's Residence, arguing that the alliance would protect both families and help them navigate the court's political turmoil. He left Li Zhiwei to discuss the proposal with Chancellor Li and took her painting and poem as a betrothal pledge.

• Li Zhiwei painted a pair of mandarin ducks, wrote Jiang Xiaobai's poem, and stamped the work with her seal.
• Jiang Xiaobai declared that he wanted to marry into the Chancellor's Residence, shocking Li Zhiwei and his guard.
• Jiang Xiaobai explained that the marriage would signal the Jiang Family's submission, raise the Chancellor's Residence's reputation, and give it leverage amid the threat surrounding the Imperial Examination and military command.
• Li Zhiwei questioned whether the emperor would approve, and Jiang Xiaobai argued that the emperor might welcome a chance to take military command from the Jiang Family.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked Li Zhiwei to discuss the proposal with Chancellor Li and kept her painting and calligraphy as a pledge while he awaited her answer.

Jiang Xiaobai proposed cooperation to Li Zhiwei and left her with an acrostic betrothal message, asking her to decide before his expected palace audience in three days. Outside the Chancellor’s Residence, Jiang Jingcheng left his meeting furious and learned that his son had chosen Li Zhiwei.

• Li Zhiwei recognized that the first characters of Jiang Xiaobai’s poem spelled out her name and a betrothal message, then reconsidered his proposed cooperation as a possible lifeline for both families.
• Jiang Xiaobai told his guard that Li Zhiwei would need to choose whether to work with him, since the Jiang Family might not be the only one caught in the political game.
• Jiang Jingcheng stormed out of the Chancellor’s Residence after Li Bingzhang mocked the Jiang Family and warned that Jiang Xiaobai might make a fool of himself at the Poetry Gathering.
• In the carriage, Jiang Jingcheng asked which family’s daughter Jiang Xiaobai had chosen, and Jiang Xiaobai admitted it was Li Zhiwei.

Jiang Xiaobai insisted that marrying Li Zhiwei would protect him and the Jiang Family, and persuaded Jiang Jingcheng to trust his plan. At the Chancellor's Residence, Li Zhiwei told Li Bingzhang she wanted to marry Heir Jiang.

• Jiang Jingcheng flew into a rage when Jiang Xiaobai revealed he had chosen Li Zhiwei, but Jiang Xiaobai argued that marrying into the Chancellor's Residence could help protect the Jiang Family from a possible imperial trap.
• Jiang Xiaobai predicted that the Li Family would bring betrothal gifts within two days and asked Jiang Jingcheng to trust him; Jiang Jingcheng's anger eased as he wondered whether his son had a plan.
• Jiang Xiaobai said he also wanted to study under a literary master and proposed Elder Lin, but Jiang Jingcheng doubted Elder Lin would accept him.
• Li Bingzhang recalled Jiang Jingcheng's visit and assumed he had come to seek leniency over Jiang Xiaobai's purchased official position.
• Li Zhiwei returned to the Chancellor's Residence and told Li Bingzhang she wanted to marry Heir Jiang.

Li Zhiwei asked Li Bingzhang to form a marriage alliance with Heir Jiang, then showed him four poems Jiang Xiaobai had composed at the Poetry Gathering and explained his strategic reasons for marrying into the Li household. Li Bingzhang was impressed but remained uncertain, and the chapter ended with him considering Li Zhiwei’s question about the alliance.

• Li Zhiwei told Li Bingzhang she wanted a marriage alliance with Heir Jiang, shocking him.
• Li Bingzhang read four poems Li Zhiwei said Heir Jiang had composed and praised their talent, though he initially doubted Jiang Xiaobai wrote them.
• Li Zhiwei recounted Jiang Xiaobai’s explanation of the Jiang Family’s predicament and the political advantages of an alliance with the Li Family.
• Li Bingzhang asked whether Heir Jiang was truly willing to marry into the chancellor’s household, and Li Zhiwei said she believed his reasoning before asking what her father thought.

Li Zhiwei persuaded Li Bingzhang to consider a marriage alliance with Jiang Xiaobai, and revealed that she intended to take him as her husband. The next morning, Jiang Xiaobai set out to visit Li Zhiwei’s teacher, the former Grand Tutor Elder Lin.

• Li Zhiwei explained that a marriage alliance could protect both families and said she would set rules if she and Jiang Xiaobai partnered.
• Li Bingzhang began considering the alliance, despite his reluctance to visit Jiang Jingcheng and put aside their feud.
• Li Zhiwei told her maid that she was not marrying into Jiang Xiaobai’s family but taking him as her husband.
• Jiang Xiaobai summoned guard Zhang Xinnian and left the Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate to visit Elder Lin.

Jiang Xiaobai went to the Lin Estate to meet Elder Lin, despite Zhang Xinnian's doubts and the lack of an invitation. When Mr. Gu arrived, Jiang Xiaobai used the attendants' distraction to enter the estate, leaving Zhang Xinnian rushing after him.

• Jiang Xiaobai told Zhang Xinnian he was going to see Elder Lin, and Zhang called him a useless wastrel.
• Jiang Xiaobai and Zhang Xinnian arrived at the Lin Estate, where two scholar's attendants asked whether they had an invitation.
• Jiang Xiaobai introduced himself as being from the Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate, and the attendants recognized his notorious reputation.
• Mr. Gu arrived at the estate, drawing the attendants' attention.
• Jiang Xiaobai strode into the Lin Estate without being announced, and Zhang Xinnian hurried after him.

Jiang Xiaobai waited inside the Lin Estate to meet Gu Zhiyan and impressed him with his candor and keen observations. After learning that Gu Zhiyan had come to see four newly discovered masterpieces—likely Jiang Xiaobai’s poems—he was invited to the West Wing to view them.

• Jiang Xiaobai waited in a corridor with Zhang Xinnian for Gu Zhiyan to enter the Lin Estate.
• Jiang Xiaobai introduced himself to Gu Zhiyan and openly acknowledged the rumors that he was arrogant and domineering.
• Jiang Xiaobai praised Gu Zhiyan and deduced that Elder Lin had invited him on short notice to see something significant.
• Gu Zhiyan revealed that Elder Lin had summoned him to view four masterpieces, and Jiang Xiaobai suspected they were the poems he had written at the Poetry Gathering.
• A Lin Estate scholar escorted Gu Zhiyan toward the West Wing, and Gu Zhiyan invited Jiang Xiaobai to come along.

Jiang Xiaobai visited Elder Lin’s west-wing courtyard hoping to become his disciple and gain scholarly backing. After a young scholar mocked him as a wastrel, Jiang Xiaobai answered with a poem that impressed the gathered elders, just as an admiring voice spoke from behind them.

• Gu Zhiyan brought Jiang Xiaobai and Zhang Xinnian into the west-wing courtyard, where scholars awaited Elder Lin.
• Jiang Xiaobai decided that becoming Elder Lin’s disciple would strengthen his standing and help him pursue the title of Top Graduate.
• A young scholar identified Jiang Xiaobai as the capital’s notorious wastrel, and Jiang Xiaobai challenged him to say where they had met.
• Jiang Xiaobai claimed he had seen the scholar at Spring Moon Tower and recited a poem defending the place from accusations of filth.
• Gu Zhiyan and the other elders admired Jiang Xiaobai’s poem, and an unseen speaker praised it.